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The Little Mermaid

I’ll admit it; I am a self-described Disney movie freak. Not the Disney as it is now — with the exception of the latest 3D additions which are pretty awesome — but the classic, VHS’-in-big-bulky-boxes-every-princess-lives-happily-ever-after Disney movies. While I enjoyed a wide variety of them from Sleeping Beauty to Aladdin, none compared to The Little Mermaid. It is safe to say I was borderline obsessive over that particular under the sea flick.

I had Little Mermaid Barbies, Little Mermaid clothes, an Ariel sleeping bag and pillow, Sebastian and Flounder stuffed animals and literally every piece of Little Mermaid merchandise that was sold I received as a birthday or Christmas gift. By the way Disney, you’re welcome for the income.

The funny thing is, I never actually owned the movie. It was a movie saved for visits up north to my grandparents and whether they liked it or not, that was the movie getting watched on repeat every time I was up there.

I had the songs memorized and I of course thought I had the voice of an angel — or more importantly, Ariel. My Papa would often say, “Ah The Little Mermaid, she sounds like this,” followed by his best impression, sounding more like a croaking frog than the blissful red-headed mermaid princess. I’d jump in to stop him and usually responded with, “no Papa, it’s like this,” giving my best 4-year-old (and really it continued well into my pre-teen years) serenade.

My grandma gave me her collection of Disney movies a few years ago, but as my VHS player broke down and I found it extremely difficult to replace, I was once again without The Little Mermaid. But as Papa’s little girl who tends to be overly spoiled, I recently got the best surprise gift a girl could ask for this past weekend in The Little Mermaid DVD (at the age of 24). Who says you ever have to grow up?